The jumping off discussion area for the rest of the Deck. All things Lakewood. Please check out our other sections. As we refile many discussions from the past into their proper sections please check them out and offer suggestions.

Well I would like to take a moment t0 highlight the deep thought club of Lakewood: Summers, O'Leary, Litten, Bullock, Madigan, Powers, FitzGerald, and all of their sycophants.

Thank god you turned down the offer from Metro to keep a full service hospital here and instead went with Ed FitzGerald getting it all for $1.

Metro would have been terrible. NOT

Odd thing is, had Metro got the deal, and did this, it would have actually been worth $120 million to the residents. Instead of being lied to about a deal that was really only worth $1 to the residents.

Jim O'Bryan wrote:Well I would like to take a moment t0 highlight the deep thought club of Lakewood: Summers, O'Leary, Litten, Bullock, Madigan, Powers, FitzGerald, and all of their sycophants.

Thank god you turned down the offer from Metro to keep a full service hospital here and instead went with Ed FitzGerald getting it all for $1.Metro would have been terrible. NOT. Odd thing is, had Metro got the deal, and did this, it would have actually been worth $120 million to the residents. Instead of being lied to about a deal that was really only worth $1 to the residents.

Simple. If Metro had gotten the deal, there would have been no role and no $$$ for Lakewood's leaders and sycophants.

Who would have thought? Jennifer Pae claimed she knew their financial status and they couldn’t afford to come into Lakewood!!

Now here they are expanding like crazy - offering local primary care to neighborhoods, rebuilding the main campus, and investing in improving neighborhoods which translates to better health all around.

The same things the mayor and CCF claimed were their priorities, yet we have nothing to show for it and likely never will.

Wonder what Ed Fitz got for delivering the 6 acres for $1 besides a job?

"When tyrants tremble, sick with fear, And hear their death-knell ringing, When friends rejoice both far and near, How can I keep from singing?" --from the Pete Seeger version of "How can I keep from singing?"

I'm not sure we will ever understand why our elected officials didn't demand further consideration of the MetroHealth proposal.

The investments planned in Cleveland are attempts to get at the root causes of poor health with a focus on improving the lives of an ENTIRE community. Boutros is passionate about this. Summers & O"Leary, not so much. Even though the MetroHealth proposal for Lakewood did not extend beyond the boundaries of the hospital, it would have brought greater benefit to ALL, than the services provided at the Family Health Center and the development planned.

A few weeks ago, I was driving behind a car leaving Lakewood with a bumper sticker that read "In Case of Emergency, Take Me to MetroHealth."

My first thoughts were, that seems like a dangerous idea; in a real emergency, time is critical; something more generic like "Take Me to a LEVEL I Trauma Center" makes sense given the strip mall/drug store healthcare venues now available and the dumbing down of our hospital; but I assume EMS is trained to know this without referencing someone's bumper.

Then I thought, perhaps this person has a rare condition with a long history of treatment that is best served by MetroHealth? Is MetroHealth giving out these stickers? Or is that driver fed up with "The Clinic" and their five star hotel; parking; facility fees; being transported around like a commodity at their expense; appointments in Solon...not to mention the pilfering of our public land and assets?"

So yes, let's not forget that it was Summers, O'Leary, Litten and others that paved the way and gave a green light to the current approach and a red one to MetroHealth & Boutros.

Bridget Conant wrote:Had we truly wanted to be “the Healthiest City in America,” we would have partnered with Metro.

You know, that term underlines a truly amazing City Hall line of bullshit.

They commissioned a study and yes we have a copy. Dozens of great ideas that could have made Lakewood healthier, and better off. All of them though a full service hospital was a great idea that could be built on for the future. The sub title of the report was “the Healthiest City in America" which is the only thing adopted by City Hall the study like so many other studies that came up with the same conclusions were shelved.